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Unity Criminal Justice System
SECTION A: AUTHORITY * 1. Governors, Lieutenant Governors, the Captain of the Guard, and Guard Lieutenants are the officials with authority to act in legal disputes, although people in the latter two positions—Captain and Lieutenant of the Guard—may only do so in cases that exclusively feature Low Crimes 1. The authority of these roles, and therefore the ability of people in these positions to adjudicate matters of law, is based on the authority of the Unity Parliament. * 2. In accordance with the Rules of Society, in order to be able to pass judgment on people of Noble caste 2, all Governors and Lieutenant Governors of Unity must be of Noble caste themselves. Because the positions of Governor and Lieutenant Governor do not afford their holders any pins of status, all candidates for those positions must already be of noble caste. a) When a legal case involves an accusation against a person of Royal caste, such a case is beyond the authority of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor. The Unity Parliament itself must judge any such accusations. Governors and Lieutenant Governors of Unity should only act in an advisory capacity in such legal matters, while the Unity Parliament will investigate and sentence any crimes committed. b) Additionally, should a Governor (et al.) decide to seek Execution, Permanent Exile, or “Unforgivable Punishment” as punishment for a crime, they must petition Unity Parliament to rule on the sentencing. * 3. Any decision or law can be changed by a ruling by the majority of Unity Parliament. a) Anything not covered in this document may at any time be ruled and judged upon by Parliament. b) Parliament has the authority to pass summary judgement on crimes, skipping trials and proceedings, by a majority vote of Parliament members or their proxies. c) It is possible in extraordinary circumstances for a Governor or member of the Unity Parliament to overrule a legal decision reached by a lower-ranking authority. If the higher authority intervenes before the chosen punishment is carried out, then the decision by the higher authority stands. If the punishment has already been carried out, it is still possible to overrule the decision (and attempt to reverse any punishments) so long as no more than two (2) months have passed. * 4. All people are subject to the laws of Unity while in Unity lands and territory.4 a) Each individual city of Unity shall have its own Governor, whose jurisdiction applies to all parts of the nation that are closer to that city than to any other. In other words: Unity lands are under the legislative, political, and logistical jurisdiction of the Governor whose city’s walls are nearest to that part.5 b) Parliament members and their proxies have diplomatic immunity. * 5. Anything not covered in this document is defaulted to the Rules of Society, unless overruled by Parliament. = 1. See section E4 for the definition of Low Crimes. In the case of a crime whose class is disputed, see section B1e. = = 2. The castes are Peasant / Noble / Royalty, with the following number of pins of status: 1-2 / 3-4 / 5-7. = = 3. The two month limitation is not applicable to decisions made by parliament. = = 4. Unless otherwise protected by diplomatic standing or other means. = = 5. If a location is roughly equidistant from multiple cities, disputes over jurisdiction shall be settled by a simple majority of the Parliament. = SECTION B: BASIC LEGAL ACTIONS * 1. Any Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Captain of the Guard, or Guard Lieutenant who is acting as the Lead Adjudicator in a Legal Action has the following duties, to be performed in the order listed below. Note that it is entirely legal to follow these steps and then pronounce relatively quick, summary judgment, without the necessity of an Extended Trial. Alternatively, Unity Parliament as a whole can act as a High Judge and make rulings or site as judge in cases and trials as it deems necessary. a) To hear the complaints of any Accusers or wronged parties. b) To hear the defensive arguments of the Accused. c) To solicit statements from any bystanders or Witnesses of the alleged crime, and to evaluate the likely bias of any such potential Witnesses.6 d) To decide if there is enough uncertainty in the Legal Action to justify an Extended Trial (see Section C for more details). i) Extended trials should generally be limited to high crimes. ii) Additionally, all Accused of the noble caste or higher have the legal right to demand an Extended Trial, if they feel that their situation is being significantly misunderstood by the official adjudicating the Legal Action.7 If an Accused exercises this right, the resulting Trial will be public and highly visible. iii) Extended trial rights can be overthrown by a simple majority Parliament vote. e) Determine the Class that the alleged crime falls under. (See sections E4, E6, and E8 for details on the differing Classes.) i) If the Captain of the Guard, Guard Lieutenant, or any directly-involved party voices the possibility that the crime may be a High Crime, then the Legal Action should be turned over to the Governor or Lieutenant Governor. ii) If the Governor or Lieutenant Governor believes the legal action may be an Unforgivable Crime, then the Legal Action must be turned over to the High Judge of Parliament. f) To decide, based on the available evidence and testimony, whether or not the accused has broken the laws of Unity. If the Accused is judged innocent (or if the illegal action was strongly motivated by self-defense and/or a desire to prevent other laws from being broken), then no punishment shall be assigned. g) To decide on the appropriate punishment for the crime, given the options presented in sections E5 and E7. SECTION C: EXTENDED TRIALS * 1. If the Accused noble exercises his or her right to an Extended Trial 8 — or if, after hearing arguments and witness statements, the person adjudicating the Legal Action believes it to be complex or uncertain enough and of appropriate severity to justify an Extended Trial—then the Accused shall immediately be taken into custody by the Captain of the Guard or an officer assigned by that Captain.9 This person shall be known as the Ruling Officer of the Legal Action, and it is his or her job to ensure that the Accused actually arrives at a later Trial in order to face whatever punishment that the Lead Adjudicator decides upon.10 * 2. All people who are Accused have the right to a swift trial: within no more than 24 hours, a Trial must take place. In the intervening time, the Lead Adjudicator should gather (and solicit) additional information from bystanders and Witnesses of the alleged criminal action, and he or she should also (generally) make public the location and time of the Trial. a) The official adjudicating may decide whether the Trial shall be open to the public or not, largely depending on the sensitivity of any possible information that may need to be divulged during it. b) If the Trial is not public, it must be approved and overseen by a member of Unity Parliament. * 3. During a Trial, the following steps shall be observed. All speeches and testimonials to be made are limited to a maximum of 5 minutes in length. a) The Lead Adjudicator shall summarize, to all parties, his or her understanding of the case, including a specific statement of what unknown factors the Trial is meant to address. b) The Accuser(s) shall make a formal accusation of a crime, followed by an explanation or speech that presents their own perspective. c) The Accused shall either plead “guilty” or “innocent;” if they plead guilty, then they may give a brief speech to explain themselves and ask for merciful sentencing, and the official adjudicating may choose to advance to step (h), below. If they (or their Proxy) plead innocent, they may speak to explain their actions and the reason for the accusation. d) The Accuser(s) may present an individual Witness, read a statement written by a first hand witness, or one Character Representative,11 who may then provide his or her testimony. e) The Accused may present an individual Witness, read a statement written by a first hand witness, or one Character Representative, who may then provide his or her testimony. f) The steps (d) and (e) may be repeated, letting both the Accuser(s) and Accused present an additional Witness or read a statement by a first hand witness. g) The steps (d) and (e) may be repeated a final time, letting both the Accuser(s) and Accused present a third and final Witness or statement by a first hand witness. h) The Lead Adjudicator shall decide whether or not the Accused is innocent; if the Accused is guilty, then the Class of the crime (according to sections E4, E6, and E8) and the appropriate punishment 12 (see sections E5 and E7) will also be decided. i) A brief statement will be read by the official adjudicating that lists the charges, passes judgement, and, if the Accused is guilty, the Class of the crime and the punishment. j) The Ruling Officer shall ensure that the chosen punishment is carried out. (See section A2b for details regarding serious punishments.) If Execution is the chosen punishment, the Executioner will take over from the Ruling Officer at this time. i) Executions must be done publicly with witnesses and a formal reading of charges and the sentence. ii) Executions should be carried out swiftly and in a humane method. k) All trials will have a summary paper filed with the Unity Parliament by the Lead Adjudicator that includes a listing of the charges, the evidence presented, the witnesses, and the verdict. SECTION D: HONOR DUELS # Honor Duels are not a part of the standard legal system presented in this document, but may replace certain parts of the legal process if all the involved parties agree to the terms. # As established in the Rules of Society, anyone of sufficient social caste may challenge another person to an Honor Duel. (It is illegal and punishable as the Low Crime “Treason by Word”—see section E4b—for a person to challenge an individual that they know to be of a higher social caste to an Honor Duel.) The challenged party is not required to accept this challenge. In Unity law, acceptance of a duel must be signaled by a clear phrase to the direct effect of “I choose to engage in an honor duel with…” followed by the name(s) of the other people involved in the duel.13 As per the Rules of Society, duelists may also recruit Champions to represent them. # If the challenged party decides to accept the Honor Duel, then a Adjudicator’s role is greatly reduced. He or she shall simply ensure that the agreed-upon conditions are followed with no unplanned loss of life, ensure that the Guard is informed as to the legality of the fighting, and confirm that all involved parties accept the Duel as a legitimate end to their conflict. SECTION E: CLASSES OF CRIME AND PUNISHMENT * 1. There are 3 Classes of crime—Low Crimes, High Crimes, and Unforgivable Crimes—each with a different possible range of punishments. As noted in sections B1g and C3h, the official adjudicating a Legal Action can choose whichever punishment he or she believes is most fitting, but that punishment must be chosen from the appropriate list for the crime. * 2. Any of the following crimes, with the exception of Unforgivable Crimes, can be acceptable under Unity law if perpetrators are explicitly granted permission to commit such acts, generally in writing, by a member of the Unity Parliament. * 3. The people of Unity are duty-bound to report criminal activity to the authorities—defined as members of the Guard, Lieutenant Governors, Governors, and members of the Unity Parliament. This means that a failure to make a good-faith effort to alert such figures of a crime can be considered, in extreme cases, a kind of complicity akin to Criminal Negligence (a low crime). Citizens are encouraged to do what they can to safely stop others from committing crimes, but telling an authority about criminal activity is their only true duty. * 4. The list of Low Crimes consists of the following: a) Vandalism b) Treason by word 14 c) Petty theft 15 d) Assault e) Breaking and entering f) Bearing false witness g) Criminal negligence h) Torture or mutilation i) Desecration of a person’s corpse j) Willful obstruction of official Unity business 16 k) Wearing more pins of status than are afforded l) Impersonating a person of higher social caste m) Forgery n) Visiting the city of Theddespari o) Ownership of slaves * 5. The punishments that can be visited on a person who has committed a Low Crime consist of the following. At the Lead Adjudicator’s discretion, up to 2 of these punishments may be combined; additionally, the official may set the specific terms of each punishment, up to the limits noted for each punishment. a) Community service 17 b) Monetary fine 18 c) Calling of influence 19 d) Writing a formal apology, to be copied and distributed publicly e) Temporary imprisonment in the stocks 20 f) Jail time, not to exceed 1 month * 6. The list of High Crimes consists of the following: a) Grand theft 21 b) Attempted murder 22 c) Murder d) Treason by act 23 e) Collusion with Demons, Hostile Entities, or Enemies of the state 24 * 7. The punishments that can be visited on a person who has committed a High Crime consist of the following. In the case of corporal punishment, the Lead Adjudicator may choose the specific terms of the punishment. a) Corporal punishment 25 b) Execution 26 c) Permanent exile 27 * 8. According to the Rules of Society, there is also a category of Unforgivable Crime, which requires an entirely different category of punishment. This category of crime is defined as “murdering or attempting to murder a member of a ruling Royal Family or the head of a Recognized State Religion (that is, a person with 6 or 7 pins of status) during peacetime.” See the note on section E6b for the technical definition of attempted murder. a) The acceptable punishment for an Unforgivable Crime is stated clearly in the Rules of Society: “Those found guilty of committing an unforgivable offense are to be executed along with their children, parents, brothers, sisters, and spouses. This is an unforgivable punishment for an unforgivable offense.” Footnotes 1 See section E4 for the definition of Low Crimes. In the case of a crime whose class is disputed, see section B1e. 2 The castes are Peasant / Noble / Royalty, with he following number of pins of status: 1-2 / 3-4 / 5-7. 3 The two month limitation is not applicable to decisions made by parliament. 4 Unless otherwise protected by diplomatic standing or other means. 5 If a location is roughly equidistant from multiple cities, disputes over jurisdiction shall be settled by a simple majority of the Parliament. 6. In this step, sworn statements made by Knights and higher status nobles should be considered evidence. These statements will be given much greater weight than statements made by any other witnesses or involved parties, as long as the Knight was a witness to the events in question. The Rules of Society also require that, in the absence of evidence, witnesses with more pins of status will be given more credence than witnesses with fewer pins of status. 7 Over-use of this right for frivolous reasons can be considered a crime and can result in punishment for the “Willful obstruction of official Unity business.” 8 Unless overturned by Unity Parliament. 9 The Captain of the Guard may, at any time, assign or reassign anyone to be the Ruling Officer of an ongoing Legal Action. 10 The Ruling Officer is not required to place the Accused in jail or in shackles: the Ruling Officer is allowed to use whatever means he or she believes necessary to ensure that the Accused is successfully brought to Trial. If the Ruling Officer uses unnecessarily cruel or inhumane methods, the Accused may make claims of grievance at the Trial. It is possible for the Ruling Officer to be punished for using unacceptable means of restraint or coercion. Lax methods, particularly if they result in escape by the Accused, can qualify as Criminal Negligence on the part of the Ruling Officer. 11 A “Character Representative,” who must be of higher status, may give a speech explaining the personal character traits of the Accuser(s) or the Accused, as appropriate, generally in order to help the official determine how trustworthy the relevant party’s testimony and arguments are. There is a strict limit of one character witness who must be of higher status. 12 If necessary, the official adjudicating will request High Crime sentencing from Unity Parliament. 13 The official may exercise some common sense in determining whether a person has declared him- or herself part of an Honor Duel. Still, there must be a clear declaration of intent, to closely match the meaning above. 14 “Treason by word” includes speech that harms someone of higher social caste than the speaker. The person of Noble or Royal caste who accuses another of this crime has the right to determine what constitutes “harm,” although of course the official who adjudicates the case will decide the guilt and possible punishment of the Accused. 15 “Petty theft” is defined as “stealing duplicable assets that do not exceed 20 silver pieces in total value.” In addition to any punishments assigned to a person who is guilty of this crime, that person must return the stolen goods (or the monetary equivalent of the stolen goods, if those goods cannot be recovered). 16 This category includes “contempt of court,” “attempting to circumvent legal punishment,” and “frivolous invocation of the right to an Extended Trial.” 17 Community service should not exceed 1 month of hard labor and it should serve the greater good of Unity. 18 Monetary fines should not exceed 10 silver pieces (1 gold piece), with the funds delivered to the nearest city’s Governor to be used in projects that will serve the greater good of Unity. 19 “Calling of influence” is defined as taking influence cards from the criminal, then delivering them to the city’s Governor to be used in projects that will serve the greater good of Unity. This punishment may not exceed 8 influence cards. 20 The time spent in the stocks should not exceed 4 hours. 21 All theft that does not meet the definition of “petty theft” qualifies as “grand theft.” Just as with petty theft, the culprit must return the stolen goods, or their equivalent monetary value, in addition to any punishments assigned. 22 “Attempted murder” is defined as inflicting enough damage on a person such that he or she is left helpless and bleeding out, and then failing to heal (or to arrange for others to heal) the victim. In general, officials should keep in mind that attempted murder should be punished somewhat less severely than murder. 23 “Treason by act” includes conducting espionage against Unity or performing any other action that actively harms the interests of Unity. It also includes impersonating royalty or engaging in any active efforts to incite others to kill members of sovereign royal houses (or the heads of any internationally-recognized religious organizations). 24 In order for speech or action to qualify as “collusion,” it must imply an intent to damage the interests of Unity or its citizens. Half breeds with no outstanding legal actions are to be treated as humans. Demons, if returned, will be tolerated as this falls under provision that returning from death serves as a punishment for one’s crimes. However, any criminal act performed by a full blooded demon will be upgraded one class level (low crime to high crime, etc). 25 This punishment is meant to include physical harm and may or may not cause scarring and disfigurement. This can include public lashes with a whip, the removal of a body part (such as a hand or an ear), and so on. Although such disfigurement can technically be healed by the use of magic, it is within the rights of the official to decree a time period during which the disfigurement cannot legally be healed. Healers who knowingly and deliberately break such an injunction are guilty of the Low Crime “Willful obstruction of official Unity business.” The punishment would be reapplied to the criminal and, in cases where it is deemed appropriate, the healer will be made to share in the punishment as well. 26 In the case of a Returned criminal, death is considered to fulfill the need of punishment and shall be carried out once per crime. However, if convicted of a high crime and punished, any future crimes committed will be elevated one class level (low crime to high crime, etc) for a period of one year. Important exceptions to the death provision include: death does not remove a state of exile and punishments of death must be by execution, not by any other means. Any technicality will be judged by Parliament. 27 The criminal may not step foot within the boundaries of Unity Lands at any time (after being escorted to the nation’s borders). All of his or her holdings are forfeit to Unity. If the criminal is found within the borders of Unity, he or she shall be captured and executed, then (if he or she is Returned and manages to come back from death), escorted to the nation’s borders again and “re-exiled.” There is one exception to this: if a Returned person is exiled but returns from death within the borders of Unity, that person shall be immediately escorted to the borders without being executed first.